Expression of Genes Controlling Unsaturated Fatty Acids Biosynthesis and Oil Deposition in Developing Seeds of Sacha Inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L.)

Abstract

Sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L., Euphorbiaceae) seed oil is rich in α-linolenic acid, a kind of n-3 fatty acids with many health benefits. To discover the mechanism underlying α-linolenic acid accumulation in sacha inchi seeds, preliminary research on sacha inchi seed development was carried out from one week after fertilization until maturity, focusing on phenology, oil content, and lipid profiles. The results suggested that the development of sacha inchi seeds from pollination to mature seed could be divided into three periods. In addition, investigations on the effect of temperature on sacha inchi seeds showed that total oil content decreased in the cool season, while unsaturated fatty acid and linolenic acid concentrations increased. In parallel, expression profiles of 17 unsaturated fatty acid related genes were characterized during seed development and the relationships between gene expression and lipid/unsaturated fatty acid accumulation were discussed.

Alpha-linolenic acid content and expression of KASII and FAD3 in perilla seed associated with altitude of cultivation areas

“…In the embryonic mature stage of flax seed, the genes encoding fatty acid desaturase in many isoforms were highly expressed 19 . Particularly, it had been reported that the expressions of the genes encoding sad, fad2, and fad3 were high, which was closely associated with the high production and accumulation of oil in storage cells of inca peanut 10 . These finding were also in good-agreement with the high expression of fad3 gene in perilla.…”

“…In particular, a number of genes contributing to the production and accumulation of lipids are up-regulated. The transcriptome analysis of inca peanut seeds revealed that kas genes were highly expressed in middle-to-late stages during seed development, where the oil accumulation was beginning 10,20 . In flax seeds, kas genes were highly expressed at the middle stage of embryo development 19 .…”

“…Usually, the annual average temperatures of Thailand in high mountain areas are low and the lowest yearly temperatures are in December. The exposure of plants to low temperatures during seed maturation and lipid accumulation could then shape the profile of polyunsaturated fatty acids in many developing oil seeds 10,29 . The production of ALA possibly resulted from the interaction of many factors including climate, soil types and conditions, agricultural conditions, genetic diversity, and the ability of plants to adapt to different environments 27,29,30 .…”

“…In this study, we determined whether ALA contents in mature perilla dry seeds from 3 locations, Maehongson, Chiang Rai and Nan, are different in relation to the altitudes of each cultivation area, particularly in the aspect of gene expression. In general, many genes encoding enzymes in lipid biosynthesis are temporally up-regulated during oilseed development 9,10 . The key genes involved in n-3 fatty acid biosynthesis, β-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase II (kasII) and fatty acid desaturase-3 (fad3), were selected as candidates for surrogate markers in this study.…”

Engineering Multiple Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Canola, Brassica napus

“…High-temperature results in a higher unsaturation ratio (oleic/linoleic acid ratio) of fatty acids leading to decreased oil quality (Gibson and Mullen, 1996;Aksouh-Harradj et al, 2006). The temperature has been reported to modify the C-N metabolism and gaseous exchange favoring protein accumulation at the expense of oil and carbohydrates (Canvin, 1965;Wang and Liu, 2014). In B. napus, exposure to extremely low temperatures has also been shown to reduce photosynthetic efficiency and induce membrane damage leading to electrolyte leakage (Megha et al, 2018a).…”